Latest / Motor Trade Radio / 🎙️PLATE CHANGE SPECIAL! Steve Young, Auto West London MD, on September's opportunities and challenges (E55, S12)

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🎙️PLATE CHANGE SPECIAL! Steve Young, Auto West London MD, on September's opportunities and challenges (E55, S12) · Motor Trade Radio

• 0:06
  Speaker: Hello and welcome to the Motor Trade Radio podcast powered by
• 0:10
  Speaker: Cazoo with Philip Northward and Curtis Hutchinson bringing you
• 0:15
  Speaker: all the chatter that matters across the car retailing sector
• 0:19
  Speaker: from factory to forecourt.
• 0:27
  Speaker: Welcome to this weekday Motor Trade Radio episode.
• 0:31
  Speaker: Today we're delighted to welcome
• 0:32
  Speaker: back friend of the pod, Steve
• 0:34
  Speaker: Young, executive chairman of
• 0:36
  Speaker: Icdp, the international
• 0:38
  Speaker: automotive retailing
• 0:40
  Speaker: consultancy.
• 0:41
  Speaker: And as regular listeners will
• 0:44
  Speaker: know, Steve is also the managing
• 0:46
  Speaker: director of Auto West London,
• 0:48
  Speaker: the Amoda and Jayco business,
• 0:51
  Speaker: which opened in Chiswick in
• 0:53
  Speaker: March twenty twenty five,
• 0:55
  Speaker: marking the UK debut of Cheetahs
• 0:58
  Speaker: Automotive, Turkey's largest
• 1:01
  Speaker: dealer group.
• 1:02
  Speaker: As the seventy six plate has just gone on sale, we'll be
• 1:06
  Speaker: focusing this pod on what the plate change means to franchise
• 1:10
  Speaker: dealers with Steve's unique perspective as both a dealer,
• 1:14
  Speaker: group boss and industry analyst.
• 1:18
  Speaker: So welcome back, Steve.
• 1:19
  Speaker: Great to have you back on the pod at presumably an incredibly
• 1:23
  Speaker: busy time for you.
• 1:26
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 1:26
  Speaker: Thanks, Curtis.
• 1:27
  Speaker: Thanks, Philip.
• 1:28
  Speaker: Glad to be back.
• 1:29
  Speaker: And, uh, yeah, it's, uh, it's definitely busy.
• 1:33
  Speaker: We're we're hoping to, uh.
• 1:39
  Speaker: Hand over about two hundred and
• 1:40
  Speaker: fifty cars this month, which, as
• 1:45
  Speaker: I'm sure we'll touch on, is, uh,
• 1:47
  Speaker: challenging in from our, from
• 1:50
  Speaker: our location.
• 1:52
  Speaker: Uh, I'm literally just watching
• 1:54
  Speaker: the transporter that I mentioned
• 1:55
  Speaker: earlier backing out onto the
• 1:56
  Speaker: Hogarth roundabout from my
• 1:58
  Speaker: window.
• 1:58
  Speaker: So, um, if you, if you get a
• 2:02
  Speaker: traffic alert for west London,
• 2:04
  Speaker: um then you know, you know who
• 2:06
  Speaker: caused it.
• 2:06
  Speaker: Yes.
• 2:08
  Speaker: They're always looking at their
• 2:09
  Speaker: satnavs with Waze or whatever
• 2:11
  Speaker: and getting these alerts as long
• 2:13
  Speaker: delays at the forthcoming
• 2:15
  Speaker: roundabout.
• 2:15
  Speaker: Yeah, it's it's you guys.
• 2:17
  Speaker: But I mean, yeah, I mean, thanks for sparing the time because as
• 2:21
  Speaker: Katie said, I mean, it's a busy time for you, Steve.
• 2:23
  Speaker: And you know, this is the the
• 2:25
  Speaker: second September, I think that
• 2:28
  Speaker: since you launched the auto west
• 2:29
  Speaker: London and but I think this is a
• 2:31
  Speaker: slightly different.
• 2:32
  Speaker: Because now you've had this
• 2:33
  Speaker: longer period of time to build
• 2:34
  Speaker: up to, you know, a bigger order
• 2:36
  Speaker: bank.
• 2:36
  Speaker: And as you mentioned there, I mean, two hundred and fifty in
• 2:39
  Speaker: the month of September is a great number for you guys.
• 2:41
  Speaker: I mean, can you share some of
• 2:43
  Speaker: the, you know, as you were
• 2:44
  Speaker: mentioning there, some of those
• 2:45
  Speaker: more practical challenges and
• 2:47
  Speaker: opportunities, you know, you
• 2:48
  Speaker: faced in the, the run up to the
• 2:50
  Speaker: plate change, as we know, in the
• 2:52
  Speaker: sort of the first week of
• 2:53
  Speaker: September?
• 2:55
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 2:55
  Speaker: I think, uh, you know, anybody who's worked in the, in the
• 3:00
  Speaker: industry knows the, uh, you know, the challenges, you know,
• 3:04
  Speaker: the, the whole system becomes quite fragile in, in March and
• 3:09
  Speaker: September with the, with the bunching of the, of the demand.
• 3:13
  Speaker: So the whole logistics system, um, you know, the, the DVLA, uh,
• 3:20
  Speaker: systems, the systems that the finance houses and so on are all
• 3:23
  Speaker: stretched and um, the, you know, whilst it gives everybody a bit
• 3:30
  Speaker: of a focus, um, it also, you know, drives in drives in cost
• 3:35
  Speaker: as you, as you try to navigate all these things and put in
• 3:40
  Speaker: contingency plans and so on.
• 3:42
  Speaker: So I think that's a, you know,
• 3:44
  Speaker: one of the big issues and the,
• 3:46
  Speaker: you know, when I was up at our
• 3:48
  Speaker: sort of storage location, um,
• 3:51
  Speaker: last night and, uh, you just
• 3:54
  Speaker: see, you just see sort You know,
• 3:57
  Speaker: ramp upon ramp in this
• 3:58
  Speaker: multi-storey car park full of
• 4:00
  Speaker: other cars, but also the two or
• 4:02
  Speaker: three other dealers who are
• 4:03
  Speaker: using it.
• 4:04
  Speaker: And it just brings it home about
• 4:06
  Speaker: about what total madness the
• 4:08
  Speaker: system is.
• 4:09
  Speaker: Um, so it's, uh, it's, it's a challenge.
• 4:14
  Speaker: Um, we, you know, like all dealers, then you've got to
• 4:18
  Speaker: staff up to, to cope with the volume of pddis.
• 4:22
  Speaker: Um, the, you know, as we came into this through August, it's
• 4:28
  Speaker: still holiday time.
• 4:29
  Speaker: So you're trying to balance, you know, early preparation with
• 4:34
  Speaker: the, um, with the fact that people, you know, reasonably
• 4:39
  Speaker: want to take holiday when the schools are off and so on.
• 4:42
  Speaker: Um, our, you know, particular, uh, challenges are more to do
• 4:48
  Speaker: with where we are.
• 4:49
  Speaker: So, so we're effectively
• 4:51
  Speaker: operating, you know, from, from
• 4:53
  Speaker: three locations.
• 4:54
  Speaker: And that also means a lot of
• 4:55
  Speaker: inter-site vehicle movements
• 4:57
  Speaker: and, um, the opportunity to
• 5:00
  Speaker: leave the keys in one location
• 5:02
  Speaker: whilst the car's in another and
• 5:03
  Speaker: so on.
• 5:05
  Speaker: So it's a, it's a logistical
• 5:08
  Speaker: problem really, rather than a
• 5:10
  Speaker: sales problem.
• 5:11
  Speaker: The sales are already there, the order banks there.
• 5:13
  Speaker: Um, but it's a logistical problem.
• 5:16
  Speaker: And then overlaid on that, you know, we still have customers
• 5:20
  Speaker: who walk in who want to spend a couple of hours buying a car.
• 5:23
  Speaker: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 5:25
  Speaker: Is everybody's trying to
• 5:26
  Speaker: navigate a multi-car transport
• 5:28
  Speaker: around a reverse onto a
• 5:30
  Speaker: roundabout and try and organise
• 5:32
  Speaker: that.
• 5:33
  Speaker: You've got a, there's a lot of plates to, to, to spin.
• 5:36
  Speaker: I mean, you know, in previous conversations we've had with you
• 5:39
  Speaker: Steve, there's always plenty of plates spinning anyway.
• 5:42
  Speaker: But as you say there with the added complexity of that volume
• 5:46
  Speaker: increase at a time where it's straight out of a bank holiday
• 5:49
  Speaker: as well, aren't we into a, a first plate month as well?
• 5:53
  Speaker: And as you say in that that mid holiday period, I mean, I was
• 5:58
  Speaker: asked this question recently and I know you were also asked this.
• 6:01
  Speaker: I mean, you know, how important do you now?
• 6:03
  Speaker: I mean, I'm certainly old enough.
• 6:05
  Speaker: And remember the first of first of August days, the one plate,
• 6:10
  Speaker: um, year, but now we've obviously got the September and
• 6:13
  Speaker: the March play.
• 6:14
  Speaker: And I think by on average, I think March is about seventeen
• 6:18
  Speaker: percent of the annual volume and September is about fifteen
• 6:21
  Speaker: percent of the annual volume.
• 6:22
  Speaker: So quite, quite a significant
• 6:24
  Speaker: proportion of the the annual
• 6:26
  Speaker: registration volume for for
• 6:28
  Speaker: cars.
• 6:28
  Speaker: How important do you think those plate changes are now compared
• 6:31
  Speaker: to, you know, for buyers and dealers within the market giving
• 6:36
  Speaker: accounting for that, you know, added complexity that you get
• 6:39
  Speaker: with the pressures?
• 6:41
  Speaker: I think, uh, it's actually less important, um, for customers in
• 6:49
  Speaker: terms of the actual, the fact that the number plate is,
• 6:52
  Speaker: changed the identifier.
• 6:56
  Speaker: I think it's less important for
• 6:57
  Speaker: customers than it is for for the
• 7:00
  Speaker: industry.
• 7:01
  Speaker: Um, and probably, you know, back
• 7:04
  Speaker: when it was first of August and
• 7:06
  Speaker: the, there was a much clearer
• 7:08
  Speaker: change on the plate rather than
• 7:10
  Speaker: being buried in the middle of a
• 7:12
  Speaker: something which people don't
• 7:13
  Speaker: really quite understand the
• 7:15
  Speaker: format and the meaning of
• 7:16
  Speaker: anymore.
• 7:17
  Speaker: Um, you know, maybe it was more
• 7:18
  Speaker: important then, but the, we had
• 7:21
  Speaker: customers who were, you know,
• 7:23
  Speaker: still taking cars, you know,
• 7:25
  Speaker: last week, even even on, on
• 7:27
  Speaker: Saturday.
• 7:28
  Speaker: Um, when, you know, in your
• 7:31
  Speaker: mind, you're thinking, why are
• 7:32
  Speaker: you taking this car when you can
• 7:34
  Speaker: wait two or three days and get
• 7:36
  Speaker: it with a, with a seventy six
• 7:37
  Speaker: plate.
• 7:38
  Speaker: So, um, I think for the customers, the fact of the new
• 7:45
  Speaker: plate is less important.
• 7:46
  Speaker: There's some who are, you know, particularly excited.
• 7:49
  Speaker: And I want to be the first
• 7:50
  Speaker: person on my street with the
• 7:52
  Speaker: seventy six.
• 7:53
  Speaker: But the.
• 7:54
  Speaker: I think for the industry, it's become important because it
• 7:59
  Speaker: provides a focus.
• 8:00
  Speaker: And so you get, um, um, you know, better offers in, in March
• 8:05
  Speaker: and September for the consumers than, uh, than you do the rest
• 8:09
  Speaker: of the month because none of them want to be left behind in
• 8:12
  Speaker: the, um, in the league tables.
• 8:16
  Speaker: You know, when the SMG published
• 8:17
  Speaker: their, uh, numbers in five weeks
• 8:20
  Speaker: time and they all want to be
• 8:22
  Speaker: number one.
• 8:23
  Speaker: So they're all gaming that.
• 8:25
  Speaker: And then that brings, you know, genuine value to the customers,
• 8:29
  Speaker: the, you know, they can shop around and get a better deal,
• 8:33
  Speaker: better interest rate or whatever in September than they would
• 8:38
  Speaker: have done in, in August.
• 8:40
  Speaker: So there is a value to the customers.
• 8:42
  Speaker: But I, I think that we've created this beast, which is,
• 8:47
  Speaker: um, you know, causing all sorts of issues and challenges.
• 8:52
  Speaker: And it would be nice to think that you could just have a bit
• 8:55
  Speaker: of common sense all year round and a bit of stability.
• 8:58
  Speaker: But I'm not I'm not anticipating that happening anytime soon.
• 9:02
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 9:02
  Speaker: You feel like you could do with a bit of a reset, couldn't you?
• 9:05
  Speaker: Because like you say, those spikes every year, then it's
• 9:08
  Speaker: about, you know, maintaining that that market share in that
• 9:11
  Speaker: month and things like that, your target objectives go up and
• 9:14
  Speaker: everything else it's trying to trying to break that cycle.
• 9:17
  Speaker: I mean, last time we spoke to you and we touched on it a
• 9:20
  Speaker: little bit earlier that you talked about, obviously your,
• 9:23
  Speaker: your order bank for the, for the brands that you, you represent
• 9:27
  Speaker: and how is that looking and how, how is September looking?
• 9:31
  Speaker: And obviously with some of that overflow potentially into, into
• 9:34
  Speaker: October, it's it was strong as we came into the month.
• 9:40
  Speaker: Um, we.
• 9:43
  Speaker: We've had a, you know, a good step up in the, in the pace of
• 9:48
  Speaker: deliveries, you know, from a manufacturer they've sort of
• 9:51
  Speaker: caught up with.
• 9:54
  Speaker: The very rapid growth in market share that they had in the in
• 10:00
  Speaker: the first part of the year.
• 10:01
  Speaker: So the supplies now, um,
• 10:04
  Speaker: catching up a little, which is,
• 10:06
  Speaker: uh, clearly helpful to us and
• 10:09
  Speaker: means that the, the lead times
• 10:11
  Speaker: now are not as extreme as they
• 10:13
  Speaker: were, uh, a couple of months
• 10:16
  Speaker: ago.
• 10:17
  Speaker: Uh, and so, so, so that's all good.
• 10:20
  Speaker: You know, as ever, you've always
• 10:22
  Speaker: got sort of mixed issues, the,
• 10:24
  Speaker: the product variety on the, uh,
• 10:29
  Speaker: Chinese brands, as with Japanese
• 10:32
  Speaker: Koreans is not as complex as it
• 10:34
  Speaker: is on, you know, let's say at
• 10:36
  Speaker: the other extreme, the German
• 10:37
  Speaker: brands.
• 10:39
  Speaker: But people still want to have, you know, the, the two tone
• 10:43
  Speaker: color scheme or, you know, the, the six seat, not the seven seat
• 10:48
  Speaker: option on there on there.
• 10:50
  Speaker: J. So, uh, when it comes down to matching stock to customers and
• 10:56
  Speaker: you can still get some, uh, some delays and some, some issues,
• 11:00
  Speaker: but, but that's fine.
• 11:02
  Speaker: It's a, you know, we're in a
• 11:04
  Speaker: great place with, with the level
• 11:06
  Speaker: of, of demand that we have for
• 11:07
  Speaker: the brand and, you know, much
• 11:10
  Speaker: better now for the improved
• 11:11
  Speaker: supply.
• 11:13
  Speaker: And Steve, following on from
• 11:15
  Speaker: that, overall, the new car
• 11:17
  Speaker: market, as we know it's grown
• 11:19
  Speaker: this year.
• 11:20
  Speaker: There was a welcome increase in retail sales reported by the
• 11:24
  Speaker: Smmt in July.
• 11:26
  Speaker: How focused are the Chinese
• 11:29
  Speaker: brands you represent a motor and
• 11:31
  Speaker: Jayco.
• 11:32
  Speaker: Um two relative newcomers still
• 11:35
  Speaker: on those idiosyncrasies of the
• 11:37
  Speaker: UK market that we've already
• 11:39
  Speaker: discussed and its twin
• 11:41
  Speaker: registration peaks.
• 11:42
  Speaker: Does that take um some, you know
• 11:45
  Speaker: discussions between you and the
• 11:48
  Speaker: the OEMs to to get their heads
• 11:50
  Speaker: around that.
• 11:52
  Speaker: Not really.
• 11:53
  Speaker: I think that, um.
• 11:57
  Speaker: The they did their homework before they started.
• 12:02
  Speaker: Um, and so they had a fairly
• 12:03
  Speaker: good understanding of all the
• 12:05
  Speaker: idiosyncrasies.
• 12:06
  Speaker: I mean, not just the
• 12:06
  Speaker: registration peaks, but, but
• 12:09
  Speaker: also of, of things like
• 12:10
  Speaker: Motability.
• 12:11
  Speaker: So they understood, you know, not only how the scheme
• 12:14
  Speaker: operated, but how they would choose to operate within it.
• 12:19
  Speaker: And um, there's not really been any missteps that I would, that
• 12:26
  Speaker: I would cite.
• 12:27
  Speaker: I think, you know, some of the.
• 12:32
  Speaker: Some of the sort of tactical responses, um, I suspect would
• 12:36
  Speaker: still surprise and shock them.
• 12:39
  Speaker: Um, if they were, if they were sort of, uh, able to watch what
• 12:44
  Speaker: went on in some of the other brands, but as I say, they're in
• 12:47
  Speaker: a they're in a good place.
• 12:49
  Speaker: And so, you know, they're
• 12:52
  Speaker: playing a game, you know, to a
• 12:54
  Speaker: certain extent, you know, they
• 12:56
  Speaker: were number one with J seven in
• 12:59
  Speaker: March.
• 13:00
  Speaker: I'm sure they want to be number
• 13:02
  Speaker: one with J seven again in
• 13:04
  Speaker: September.
• 13:05
  Speaker: Um, so we've got, you know, we've got an even better supply
• 13:11
  Speaker: of J seven than we have of some of the other models.
• 13:14
  Speaker: Um so I think they, you know, they understand how it works.
• 13:18
  Speaker: I mean, they're not, they're not naive.
• 13:20
  Speaker: You know, the Chinese car market is absolutely cutthroat.
• 13:24
  Speaker: And they're, you know, the peaks
• 13:26
  Speaker: may happen at different times
• 13:28
  Speaker: and, and so on, but, um, they're
• 13:31
  Speaker: not naive and, uh, and
• 13:34
  Speaker: reasonably well planned, at
• 13:35
  Speaker: least, you know, not only, but,
• 13:38
  Speaker: but some of the other brands
• 13:39
  Speaker: with, uh, with whom we have
• 13:42
  Speaker: contact and from what you say,
• 13:44
  Speaker: it sounds as though they would
• 13:45
  Speaker: appreciate the kudos that would
• 13:47
  Speaker: go with having the best selling
• 13:49
  Speaker: car, the J7 in September as well
• 13:52
  Speaker: as March.
• 13:54
  Speaker: Yeah, absolutely.
• 13:55
  Speaker: I mean, it's, uh, there's, they got a lot of press coverage in,
• 13:59
  Speaker: in the consumer press as well as the trade press, um, for, for
• 14:04
  Speaker: what they achieved in March.
• 14:06
  Speaker: And, you know, that's, that's something that you can leverage
• 14:11
  Speaker: and it's, you know, particularly when you're a new brand, then if
• 14:16
  Speaker: you're able to say, um, you know, this was the best selling
• 14:21
  Speaker: car last month, or, you know, we were the best selling brand or
• 14:23
  Speaker: one of the top three, you know, brands in the UK.
• 14:28
  Speaker: Then that helps to allay any customer concerns about are they
• 14:32
  Speaker: here for the long term?
• 14:33
  Speaker: Is the product any good?
• 14:35
  Speaker: AM I taking a risk.
• 14:37
  Speaker: You know, because effectively
• 14:38
  Speaker: you're saying, well, if I'm
• 14:39
  Speaker: taking a risk, so did fifteen
• 14:40
  Speaker: thousand other people last
• 14:41
  Speaker: month.
• 14:42
  Speaker: And so it has a genuine value in terms of free publicity, but
• 14:49
  Speaker: also in terms of.
• 14:52
  Speaker: Answering customers concerns.
• 14:55
  Speaker: And as you say, they're not they're not new to competitive
• 14:58
  Speaker: landscapes, are they, with what they you know, the experience
• 15:02
  Speaker: back in back in China because it's, you know, China is
• 15:05
  Speaker: certainly a very competitive marketplace, isn't it, for the
• 15:09
  Speaker: for the consumers.
• 15:10
  Speaker: I mean, just just thinking about other areas of the sector and
• 15:14
  Speaker: one that I know is very close to your to yourself, Steve, is, is
• 15:18
  Speaker: the after sales marketplace and, you know, the new car plates.
• 15:22
  Speaker: And again, you know, whether it's March or whether it's
• 15:24
  Speaker: September and these new plate changes, but obviously it's a
• 15:27
  Speaker: crucial time to, to get those after sales products, to
• 15:31
  Speaker: maintain that consumer back into the, to the business, to keep
• 15:35
  Speaker: that, that you know, that after sales revenue flowing through
• 15:38
  Speaker: through the business.
• 15:39
  Speaker: And how is that going with, with
• 15:41
  Speaker: what you're seeing so far since
• 15:43
  Speaker: since, uh, you know, heading up
• 15:45
  Speaker: that auto west London business
• 15:46
  Speaker: in terms of, you know, the
• 15:47
  Speaker: service plans, that building
• 15:49
  Speaker: that retention through through
• 15:51
  Speaker: after sales market
• 15:52
  Speaker: opportunities.
• 15:54
  Speaker: Well, obviously the, with the, any of the new entrant brands,
• 15:58
  Speaker: then you have no park.
• 16:00
  Speaker: And, um, in the first months at
• 16:02
  Speaker: least you have no, no service
• 16:04
  Speaker: business.
• 16:05
  Speaker: So inevitably it takes time to, to, to build up.
• 16:11
  Speaker: Um, the.
• 16:15
  Speaker: The fact that there's a seven year warranty, whilst that's not
• 16:18
  Speaker: um, legally something that you make a difference behaviorally.
• 16:23
  Speaker: Um, it encourages people to, to
• 16:27
  Speaker: stay within the franchise
• 16:28
  Speaker: system.
• 16:28
  Speaker: So over time that will have an effect.
• 16:31
  Speaker: Uh, the service plans are, you know, competitively priced.
• 16:36
  Speaker: So, um, a lot of the customers
• 16:40
  Speaker: are buying into the service
• 16:41
  Speaker: plans.
• 16:42
  Speaker: It just makes absolute sense.
• 16:44
  Speaker: So that will also help over time.
• 16:47
  Speaker: In the short term, you're dependent on really on on
• 16:52
  Speaker: warranty work and, uh, you know, PDI and your used car prep.
• 16:57
  Speaker: So, um, you know, from a, in
• 17:00
  Speaker: terms of the after sales
• 17:01
  Speaker: business, then our hopes for,
• 17:06
  Speaker: you know, to make that, you
• 17:08
  Speaker: know, a significant profit
• 17:10
  Speaker: contributor are really through
• 17:13
  Speaker: the all makes business, which is
• 17:14
  Speaker: now picking up a bit of
• 17:15
  Speaker: momentum.
• 17:17
  Speaker: Um, and, um, our plans to add a
• 17:21
  Speaker: authorized repair franchise for
• 17:23
  Speaker: an established brand, uh, into
• 17:25
  Speaker: the facility.
• 17:26
  Speaker: And then we'll, we'll have a
• 17:28
  Speaker: much better balanced business
• 17:30
  Speaker: because that's key for you,
• 17:31
  Speaker: isn't it?
• 17:31
  Speaker: I mean, it's, you're not only
• 17:32
  Speaker: you've entered the market in
• 17:34
  Speaker: terms of new brands without a
• 17:35
  Speaker: vehicle park, as you just cited
• 17:37
  Speaker: there.
• 17:37
  Speaker: You're actually a new business
• 17:38
  Speaker: without an existing brand of the
• 17:41
  Speaker: vehicle parks.
• 17:42
  Speaker: It's not like some of the
• 17:43
  Speaker: operators that have switched
• 17:45
  Speaker: brands that are trying to
• 17:46
  Speaker: maintain some of the existing
• 17:48
  Speaker: vehicle park.
• 17:48
  Speaker: You're fresh with everything, aren't you?
• 17:50
  Speaker: Straight into that marketplace?
• 17:51
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 17:52
  Speaker: And I think, you know, we'll switch hats in a moment.
• 17:54
  Speaker: But if I put the hat on, then, um, you know, for years we've
• 18:00
  Speaker: been talking about, um, how after sales customers, you know,
• 18:05
  Speaker: do tend to be very loyal and, you know, because they build up
• 18:09
  Speaker: trust in a particular repairer.
• 18:11
  Speaker: Um, and as long as, you know, you're convenient and you're
• 18:15
  Speaker: still delivering good value to them, then, uh, they will, they
• 18:20
  Speaker: will stay loyal to you.
• 18:21
  Speaker: So now I'm on the receiving end of that because I'm effectively
• 18:25
  Speaker: trying to break that loyalty wherever they're taking their
• 18:28
  Speaker: car at the moment.
• 18:29
  Speaker: And, you know, that takes time.
• 18:32
  Speaker: It doesn't matter how much money we throw at marketing.
• 18:35
  Speaker: Um, it takes time to get, you know, get people at the moment
• 18:39
  Speaker: when for whatever reason, they become dissatisfied with their
• 18:42
  Speaker: current, uh, repair and think, okay, who else is around?
• 18:47
  Speaker: And do I trust these guys?
• 18:49
  Speaker: And, uh, what's the experience going to be like there?
• 18:52
  Speaker: So, um, I'm living, I'm living the research at the moment.
• 18:57
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 18:58
  Speaker: You're on the other side of it now, as you say there, but I'd
• 19:00
  Speaker: say it's now you're trying to build that, that after sales
• 19:04
  Speaker: revenue stream for the, for the business out here, that's, uh,
• 19:07
  Speaker: that's, that's crucial.
• 19:08
  Speaker: But we'll be back after this
• 19:10
  Speaker: short break with more from
• 19:11
  Speaker: Steve.
• 19:13
  Speaker: You're listening to all the chatter that matters on the
• 19:16
  Speaker: Motor Trade Radio podcast powered by Cazoo.
• 19:22
  Speaker: Welcome back Steve.
• 19:24
  Speaker: Another important aspect of the plate change is trade ins.
• 19:30
  Speaker: Now again, as a fledgling
• 19:31
  Speaker: business building your used car
• 19:33
  Speaker: proposition, how are you
• 19:35
  Speaker: tackling this Opportunity
• 19:37
  Speaker: specifically as we're in a plate
• 19:40
  Speaker: change month.
• 19:42
  Speaker: Uh, to start off with.
• 19:45
  Speaker: We, we weren't too worried
• 19:48
  Speaker: about, about the used car side
• 19:50
  Speaker: because we, we didn't have, um,
• 19:54
  Speaker: a facility.
• 19:54
  Speaker: If we go back, you know, a year ago or fifteen months ago, then
• 20:00
  Speaker: we didn't actually have anywhere we could sell used cars from.
• 20:03
  Speaker: So we weren't, we weren't too bothered about that.
• 20:07
  Speaker: Once we got our second site up
• 20:09
  Speaker: and running where there is a bit
• 20:10
  Speaker: more space.
• 20:12
  Speaker: Um, and we got the processes and
• 20:15
  Speaker: so on settled down for the new
• 20:17
  Speaker: car side.
• 20:18
  Speaker: Then we started to pay more attention to that and we're
• 20:21
  Speaker: gradually ramping that up.
• 20:23
  Speaker: So we now have somebody who's, you know, eighty percent focused
• 20:28
  Speaker: on the used car business.
• 20:29
  Speaker: They're, uh, you know, doing some active buying there, making
• 20:33
  Speaker: sure that we're doing the, uh, imaging and so on, correctly
• 20:37
  Speaker: that the listings are accurate.
• 20:39
  Speaker: Uh, and we're encouraging the team.
• 20:43
  Speaker: We're not incentivizing them, but we're encouraging the team
• 20:46
  Speaker: to enter into a, um, you know, a stronger conversation with
• 20:52
  Speaker: customers about trade.
• 20:53
  Speaker: And, you know, in the past, you know, we'd ask the question and
• 20:57
  Speaker: they'd say, no, it's okay.
• 20:58
  Speaker: I'm going to put it through motor.
• 20:59
  Speaker: I'm going to put it through.
• 21:00
  Speaker: We buy any car and we'd say, okay, that's fine.
• 21:03
  Speaker: Um, now we actually say, well,
• 21:04
  Speaker: actually we'd be quite
• 21:05
  Speaker: interested.
• 21:06
  Speaker: So, so we're, we're trying to capture more of the trade ins.
• 21:11
  Speaker: Uh, we are going out actively
• 21:14
  Speaker: buying, uh, in the, in the
• 21:18
  Speaker: marketplace, um, looking at the
• 21:21
  Speaker: Motability returns.
• 21:22
  Speaker: Um, obviously, because we, we
• 21:25
  Speaker: have our hands on some of those
• 21:27
  Speaker: at least, and others are
• 21:28
  Speaker: obviously available through the
• 21:29
  Speaker: auction.
• 21:30
  Speaker: Uh, we use dealer option a bit.
• 21:32
  Speaker: We're actively buying from individuals, not promoting it
• 21:37
  Speaker: that heavily, but our new website, when that comes up in a
• 21:40
  Speaker: month or two, we'll have a, you know, by, by car option on it.
• 21:46
  Speaker: So we're, we're stepping it up.
• 21:49
  Speaker: And, you know, I think we, we would expect it to be sort of a,
• 21:55
  Speaker: a decent profit contributor in, in due course.
• 22:00
  Speaker: At the moment, it's relatively
• 22:02
  Speaker: small numbers and it's probably
• 22:04
  Speaker: up to a third of it is is
• 22:07
  Speaker: franchise cars.
• 22:08
  Speaker: So our own demonstrators and uh, um, staff cars and so on.
• 22:15
  Speaker: Because I think last time we spoke, Steve, um, the OJ
• 22:19
  Speaker: approved scheme was still relatively new because it was
• 22:23
  Speaker: only launched at the beginning of the year.
• 22:26
  Speaker: Have you now got that as part of your business?
• 22:29
  Speaker: And if so, how is that bedding
• 22:31
  Speaker: in having your own approved
• 22:33
  Speaker: scheme.
• 22:34
  Speaker: Yeah, it was a fairly sort of staged launch, as you say.
• 22:39
  Speaker: It's been sort of under
• 22:41
  Speaker: discussion and in different
• 22:42
  Speaker: phases of launch for a few
• 22:44
  Speaker: months.
• 22:44
  Speaker: But, um, you know, it is now
• 22:47
  Speaker: there and, and it's definitely
• 22:50
  Speaker: gaining traction.
• 22:51
  Speaker: And we find that the leads that we get through the approved use
• 22:55
  Speaker: scheme, um, have a higher conversion rate than those which
• 22:59
  Speaker: are coming from, from AutoTrader, for example.
• 23:02
  Speaker: Um, and I think what that reflects is the same thing we
• 23:06
  Speaker: were just talking about in terms of the popularity of the brands
• 23:10
  Speaker: in the new car market.
• 23:12
  Speaker: The people that are seeing the noise, they're getting the buzz.
• 23:16
  Speaker: So they're going on to the
• 23:17
  Speaker: manufacturer site in order to
• 23:19
  Speaker: understand more.
• 23:21
  Speaker: Um, and then because there's an approved used, um, you know,
• 23:25
  Speaker: page there, then they're going in there and they're already
• 23:30
  Speaker: quite engaged with the idea of buying a new product because
• 23:35
  Speaker: they've come through that route.
• 23:37
  Speaker: And so then when they come to
• 23:38
  Speaker: us, then, um, as I said, the
• 23:41
  Speaker: conversion rate is, is good if
• 23:43
  Speaker: they've gone on AutoTrader, you
• 23:45
  Speaker: know, no disrespect to
• 23:46
  Speaker: AutoTrader, we use it and it
• 23:48
  Speaker: works well.
• 23:49
  Speaker: Um, they've maybe been
• 23:51
  Speaker: cross-shopping the motor versus
• 23:53
  Speaker: a Hyundai versus a BYD or
• 23:56
  Speaker: whatever.
• 23:57
  Speaker: And so um they may not be quite as locked into the specific
• 24:02
  Speaker: product as if they've gone through the approved use scheme.
• 24:06
  Speaker: That's interesting though, because it does that, that kind
• 24:08
  Speaker: of demonstrates that that brand strength that, you know, that
• 24:12
  Speaker: the once they've made that decision, JQ am older coming
• 24:16
  Speaker: through, as you say, that proof scheme, they are basically
• 24:19
  Speaker: making that decision out there.
• 24:20
  Speaker: It's not like you say cross
• 24:21
  Speaker: shopping brands, as may be the
• 24:24
  Speaker: case.
• 24:24
  Speaker: So quite, quite interesting.
• 24:26
  Speaker: I mean, just thinking more
• 24:28
  Speaker: broadly now, Steve, in terms of
• 24:30
  Speaker: business generally.
• 24:31
  Speaker: I mean, how would you sum up, um I mean conscious of time, you
• 24:36
  Speaker: sort of first eighteen months, you know what, what has been
• 24:40
  Speaker: some of the, you know, the highlights in running, you know,
• 24:45
  Speaker: a business, particularly the, the auto west now down where you
• 24:49
  Speaker: are operating in London.
• 24:52
  Speaker: Um, I think the, the, if you look at highlights, you know,
• 24:56
  Speaker: the things that you get a, you get a buzz from then to achieve
• 25:01
  Speaker: this volume, uh, you know, over twelve hundred cars this year,
• 25:06
  Speaker: you know, fairly safely, I can say at this point, um, you know,
• 25:11
  Speaker: is a great achievement anywhere, um, to do it in a site which is
• 25:16
  Speaker: less than a third of an acre, um, is, uh, is more remarkable.
• 25:22
  Speaker: It is.
• 25:23
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 25:23
  Speaker: Um, you know, with, with twenty
• 25:25
  Speaker: car parking spaces, you know, so
• 25:27
  Speaker: it's really, the you know, you
• 25:33
  Speaker: couldn't invent it, but, um,
• 25:35
  Speaker: but, but that that's definitely
• 25:37
  Speaker: sort of been one of the
• 25:38
  Speaker: highlights.
• 25:39
  Speaker: Um, I think the, the other thing
• 25:43
  Speaker: is around people, both the, the
• 25:45
  Speaker: team and the customer, you know,
• 25:46
  Speaker: the customers, the, you know,
• 25:48
  Speaker: the team is, is gelled really
• 25:50
  Speaker: well.
• 25:51
  Speaker: Um, we've only had, you know, we've got thirty, thirty people
• 25:58
  Speaker: on payroll now.
• 25:59
  Speaker: Um, and we've only had one, uh, sort of voluntary termination
• 26:07
  Speaker: in, in eighteen months, uh, of, of being an employer.
• 26:14
  Speaker: So, so that's a good sign.
• 26:16
  Speaker: So I think that, that, that's
• 26:17
  Speaker: worked well and they are a very
• 26:19
  Speaker: mixed diverse team in, in all
• 26:22
  Speaker: dimensions.
• 26:23
  Speaker: So, so that, so that's good.
• 26:25
  Speaker: But then also, you know, just
• 26:27
  Speaker: chatting to customers and, um,
• 26:30
  Speaker: you know, seeing how excited
• 26:31
  Speaker: they are about, about the
• 26:33
  Speaker: products, you know, um, pleased
• 26:35
  Speaker: they are with the service that
• 26:37
  Speaker: they've got both on the sales
• 26:38
  Speaker: and after sales side, um,
• 26:41
  Speaker: referrals, word of mouth, you
• 26:43
  Speaker: know, we, we had, um, uh, one,
• 26:48
  Speaker: uh, family yesterday who picked
• 26:51
  Speaker: up three cars across their
• 26:53
  Speaker: extended family and it's not
• 26:56
  Speaker: their first purchase, you know,
• 26:57
  Speaker: so, so the word's gone around in
• 26:59
  Speaker: the family, you know, this is a
• 27:00
  Speaker: really, you know, it's a good
• 27:02
  Speaker: product.
• 27:03
  Speaker: These are good people to buy it from.
• 27:05
  Speaker: Um, I'm told there's a road in
• 27:10
  Speaker: Portobello Market where, you
• 27:12
  Speaker: know, it looks like a J.Crew
• 27:13
  Speaker: showroom because there's so many
• 27:14
  Speaker: g7's parked down that particular
• 27:16
  Speaker: road.
• 27:17
  Speaker: Um, you know, so, so they, I think to, to, to be able to see
• 27:24
  Speaker: how the word's got around, you know, to get customers, you
• 27:27
  Speaker: know, saying oh so and so recommended I come to you and so
• 27:30
  Speaker: on is great because word of mouth is obviously by far the
• 27:33
  Speaker: most powerful way, um, to, to, to get business.
• 27:38
  Speaker: And as the network grows and the market becomes more competitive
• 27:45
  Speaker: than to have people who want to buy from you is clearly much
• 27:50
  Speaker: better than basically bribing people to buy from you.
• 27:53
  Speaker: I mean, that's, I mean, that's
• 27:55
  Speaker: recognition as far as you need
• 27:57
  Speaker: into that.
• 27:57
  Speaker: And I think, you know, as you say, we touched on that vehicle
• 28:00
  Speaker: park and future business that's, you know, that's building that
• 28:03
  Speaker: future into very, very much so.
• 28:05
  Speaker: And I think to your earlier point of getting that kind of
• 28:08
  Speaker: volume through that acreage, um, obviously taking into
• 28:11
  Speaker: consideration your overhead costs for where you are at,
• 28:15
  Speaker: there's probably a clear demonstration maybe when you go
• 28:17
  Speaker: back to the CDP element of your, your, uh, your time, maybe
• 28:22
  Speaker: there's a demonstration there that you can do that kind of
• 28:25
  Speaker: volume and turn over on such a small acreage and put that in a
• 28:29
  Speaker: less affluent or costly area might increase some returns on
• 28:34
  Speaker: investment in some cases.
• 28:35
  Speaker: Steve.
• 28:37
  Speaker: No, I think I think it does.
• 28:38
  Speaker: I think when you look at it,
• 28:40
  Speaker: some of the gin palaces and, you
• 28:42
  Speaker: know, vast sites with huge built
• 28:44
  Speaker: areas, um, then you don't need
• 28:49
  Speaker: that.
• 28:49
  Speaker: And the, and the, you know, the ICP research shows that, uh, you
• 28:55
  Speaker: know, the, the physical appearance of the dealership is,
• 28:59
  Speaker: is the least important influence on, on customer buying behavior.
• 29:05
  Speaker: You know, they buy from people,
• 29:06
  Speaker: they want to see the stock, um,
• 29:09
  Speaker: they want to have the test
• 29:10
  Speaker: drive.
• 29:11
  Speaker: And so there is obviously some minimum size.
• 29:13
  Speaker: I don't think that you could do this volume from a sort of
• 29:17
  Speaker: studio type, uh, setup.
• 29:20
  Speaker: So you do need to have enough space to show the cars.
• 29:23
  Speaker: Um, but you don't need to have twenty seven different varieties
• 29:28
  Speaker: of every car.
• 29:30
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 29:30
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 29:31
  Speaker: Good.
• 29:31
  Speaker: Good point.
• 29:31
  Speaker: I mean, just just finishing off there just in terms of the plans
• 29:36
  Speaker: now for for Jay and automotive.
• 29:38
  Speaker: I mean, we talked previously about, you know, the Chery brand
• 29:43
  Speaker: and see how that's progressing.
• 29:44
  Speaker: But obviously you also mentioned about, you know, growth
• 29:47
  Speaker: aspirations and you know what opportunities you're starting to
• 29:50
  Speaker: see for for expansion.
• 29:52
  Speaker: Are you just wanting to get through the, the September
• 29:55
  Speaker: months before you start to, to think of other things?
• 29:58
  Speaker: Not really.
• 29:59
  Speaker: I mean, the, you know, as I
• 30:01
  Speaker: mentioned, we've got a strong
• 30:02
  Speaker: team here.
• 30:02
  Speaker: So, um, the I can, I can let them get on with the, with the
• 30:09
  Speaker: day job to a certain extent while I'm trying to sort of
• 30:12
  Speaker: build the, build the future.
• 30:14
  Speaker: You know, we've never been shy about saying the ambition was to
• 30:17
  Speaker: be a, you know, top one hundred group in five years.
• 30:21
  Speaker: And we're not going to do that by, by sort of sitting back.
• 30:24
  Speaker: So we've been looking at at
• 30:27
  Speaker: growth opportunities from, you
• 30:30
  Speaker: know, six months after we
• 30:32
  Speaker: started really actively looking
• 30:34
  Speaker: as opposed to just sort of vague
• 30:36
  Speaker: ambitions or looking at specific
• 30:38
  Speaker: opportunities.
• 30:40
  Speaker: And the, the progress has been a
• 30:44
  Speaker: little bit slower, um, partly to
• 30:47
  Speaker: do with property, partly to do
• 30:49
  Speaker: with um, the plans of the brands
• 30:52
  Speaker: themselves, um, you know, trying
• 30:55
  Speaker: to get a match of the brand and
• 30:56
  Speaker: the property.
• 30:57
  Speaker: But you know, I'm certainly hopeful at this point that
• 31:01
  Speaker: we'll, we'll add, you know, another two brands and another
• 31:06
  Speaker: site before the, before the end of the year.
• 31:10
  Speaker: Um, I mentioned that we're looking to add an authorized
• 31:14
  Speaker: repair franchise in our service existing service site, which
• 31:19
  Speaker: will be hopefully end of first quarter or something like that.
• 31:24
  Speaker: By the time we've done some
• 31:26
  Speaker: building alterations and, uh,
• 31:29
  Speaker: um, got the separation that we
• 31:31
  Speaker: want there.
• 31:32
  Speaker: Um, and we're still talking to
• 31:34
  Speaker: other new entrants and also to
• 31:36
  Speaker: establish players.
• 31:37
  Speaker: So, so there's a, you know,
• 31:38
  Speaker: there's a pipeline with some
• 31:41
  Speaker: degree of certainty over the
• 31:43
  Speaker: next three months and some just
• 31:46
  Speaker: maintaining contacts and still
• 31:48
  Speaker: trying to keep the communication
• 31:50
  Speaker: channel open, you know, beyond
• 31:52
  Speaker: that.
• 31:55
  Speaker: And Steve, final question for you.
• 31:57
  Speaker: We couldn't have you on without talking about your, um, your
• 32:01
  Speaker: other job as an industry analyst with Icdp and to get your views
• 32:06
  Speaker: on the Zev mandate consultation, which, as we all know, is
• 32:10
  Speaker: underway and runs until late October, what, in your view,
• 32:15
  Speaker: needs to be done to make the Zev mandate more workable for both
• 32:19
  Speaker: OEMs and consumers.
• 32:22
  Speaker: Any thoughts on that?
• 32:24
  Speaker: Well, I heard the your
• 32:27
  Speaker: interviews recently with, uh,
• 32:29
  Speaker: with, with Robert, uh, and, um,
• 32:33
  Speaker: your comments on, on Mike Hawes,
• 32:35
  Speaker: uh, you know, interventions and
• 32:39
  Speaker: I think the last weekend, um,
• 32:42
  Speaker: and they, you know, talked about
• 32:44
  Speaker: how the mandate has, you know,
• 32:47
  Speaker: created market dislocation and,
• 32:49
  Speaker: and the knock on effect is
• 32:52
  Speaker: potentially going to come
• 32:52
  Speaker: through in the used market
• 32:53
  Speaker: because of a forced supply of
• 32:56
  Speaker: EVs into the, into the new
• 32:59
  Speaker: market.
• 33:00
  Speaker: So, um, you know, all I would
• 33:03
  Speaker: say is if any listeners have not
• 33:05
  Speaker: listened to those, they should,
• 33:07
  Speaker: um, in terms of what you should
• 33:09
  Speaker: do, then I think the ideally
• 33:11
  Speaker: ditch it.
• 33:12
  Speaker: Um, I don't think that's going to happen.
• 33:15
  Speaker: Um, we should at least see some
• 33:19
  Speaker: Movement that shifts the mindset
• 33:24
  Speaker: from penalizing OEMs to
• 33:28
  Speaker: encouraging.
• 33:30
  Speaker: Uh, the buyers and the, and the users, uh, to, to buy, you know,
• 33:36
  Speaker: to, to move it from a, um, a stick to a, to a carrot in a
• 33:41
  Speaker: push to a pull.
• 33:43
  Speaker: And that's going to, you know, substantially help the market
• 33:47
  Speaker: by, uh, or help the industry by reducing the massive cost of,
• 33:53
  Speaker: uh, incentives and subsidies, which everyone's having to put
• 33:57
  Speaker: in at the moment.
• 33:58
  Speaker: You know, you should be
• 33:59
  Speaker: rewarding, uh, achievement, not
• 34:02
  Speaker: punishing, you know,
• 34:03
  Speaker: underachievement.
• 34:05
  Speaker: And I was, um, I was struck, uh, listening to, uh, you know,
• 34:13
  Speaker: today in parliament coverage from, uh, from yesterday where
• 34:17
  Speaker: you had some, reform asking about what was going on with
• 34:24
  Speaker: the, you know, Rosebank and Jackdaw, you know, oil fields
• 34:28
  Speaker: and reform, saying, you know, when are you going to give the
• 34:31
  Speaker: green light and the Green Party saying, you know, when are you
• 34:34
  Speaker: going to stop it?
• 34:35
  Speaker: You two total, you know, total
• 34:38
  Speaker: total opposites, you know, and,
• 34:40
  Speaker: and you can't have this sort of
• 34:42
  Speaker: holier than thou attitude, in my
• 34:44
  Speaker: view, you know, yes, we all know
• 34:46
  Speaker: that, you know, after the last
• 34:47
  Speaker: three or four months, you know,
• 34:48
  Speaker: who can possibly say there is
• 34:50
  Speaker: not an issue about global
• 34:51
  Speaker: warming?
• 34:52
  Speaker: Um, but the idea that, uh, you know, we in the UK are going to
• 34:57
  Speaker: do something, which is, you know, way in excess of what
• 35:02
  Speaker: other markets are looking for, um, just strikes me as is, is
• 35:08
  Speaker: totally crazy that the, uh, the industry is suffering.
• 35:14
  Speaker: Um, the reality is that The
• 35:18
  Speaker: influence of the UK market on
• 35:20
  Speaker: the manufacturers is almost
• 35:25
  Speaker: irrelevant.
• 35:25
  Speaker: You know, yes, it's a
• 35:26
  Speaker: significant European market, but
• 35:29
  Speaker: it is only one of the European
• 35:30
  Speaker: markets.
• 35:32
  Speaker: And the, you know, the product offer that we have here is going
• 35:38
  Speaker: to be set by, you know, European and global demand patterns.
• 35:42
  Speaker: No one's setting out to launch a
• 35:43
  Speaker: new vehicle program, um,
• 35:46
  Speaker: specifically because of the Zev
• 35:47
  Speaker: mandate.
• 35:48
  Speaker: So all that happens is that we'll get whatever products
• 35:52
  Speaker: match out of the portfolio, and we'll get some tailoring of that
• 35:58
  Speaker: and some tailoring of the pricing and incentives to try
• 36:01
  Speaker: and make it fit.
• 36:03
  Speaker: Um, even if we want to look after UK plc in as a whole in
• 36:10
  Speaker: the round, then we need to be, uh, protecting the industry,
• 36:16
  Speaker: Manufacturing and retail.
• 36:18
  Speaker: Um, and not, not beating them up
• 36:21
  Speaker: and with the thinking that the,
• 36:24
  Speaker: you know, the ice is going to
• 36:25
  Speaker: start recovering because we're
• 36:27
  Speaker: selling another five or ten
• 36:28
  Speaker: percent.
• 36:29
  Speaker: It's just, it's just totally crazy.
• 36:32
  Speaker: Yeah, I know, I couldn't, I couldn't agree more.
• 36:33
  Speaker: I think like you say, I think they forget the we these are
• 36:37
  Speaker: global manufacturers supplying a global market in in the main.
• 36:42
  Speaker: And you know, it adds an extra
• 36:44
  Speaker: complexity because of our right
• 36:46
  Speaker: hand drive marketplace here in
• 36:48
  Speaker: the UK on an island in many ways
• 36:51
  Speaker: as well.
• 36:52
  Speaker: It gives a little bit less
• 36:54
  Speaker: flexibility for them to, to
• 36:55
  Speaker: operate.
• 36:56
  Speaker: So it adds that concern.
• 36:57
  Speaker: Like you say, it's that bigger
• 36:58
  Speaker: damage that it's doing to the
• 37:00
  Speaker: the sector.
• 37:01
  Speaker: But I'm sure that, uh, I think
• 37:03
  Speaker: the deadline is the twenty third
• 37:05
  Speaker: of October.
• 37:05
  Speaker: So, um, I know there's a lot of,
• 37:07
  Speaker: uh, conversations taking place
• 37:10
  Speaker: at the minute and I'm sure
• 37:11
  Speaker: we'll, we'll watch that one as
• 37:13
  Speaker: it develops.
• 37:14
  Speaker: I mean, for me, it's just a huge Thank you, Steve, for giving up
• 37:17
  Speaker: your time today.
• 37:18
  Speaker: I know it's a busy time for you
• 37:19
  Speaker: and hopefully the the multi-car
• 37:22
  Speaker: transporter has managed to
• 37:23
  Speaker: navigate back out around the
• 37:25
  Speaker: roundabout and onto his next
• 37:27
  Speaker: job.
• 37:28
  Speaker: Um, and maybe just given up and gone back to Spain, maybe.
• 37:32
  Speaker: Steve, I don't know, I don't know, I last seen he was
• 37:35
  Speaker: disappearing towards Chiswick High Road, which in itself is,
• 37:38
  Speaker: is not going to be an easy navigation with a, you know, a
• 37:43
  Speaker: twelve car transporter.
• 37:44
  Speaker: But there we go.
• 37:46
  Speaker: No longer my problem.
• 37:49
  Speaker: Yeah.
• 37:49
  Speaker: No, I mean, just just I mean, good luck.
• 37:52
  Speaker: All the best.
• 37:54
  Speaker: Be great to hear as how you
• 37:56
  Speaker: finished off in in in September
• 37:58
  Speaker: those two hundred and fifty then
• 37:59
  Speaker: thereabouts.
• 37:59
  Speaker: And I think I mean congratulations to what you and
• 38:03
  Speaker: the team are doing.
• 38:03
  Speaker: I mean twelve hundred units in
• 38:05
  Speaker: this this year of trading from
• 38:07
  Speaker: from you know basically what is
• 38:09
  Speaker: a stout business just just
• 38:10
  Speaker: eighteen months ago is, is
• 38:12
  Speaker: fantastic.
• 38:13
  Speaker: And like you say, with that expansion that you've got on the
• 38:16
  Speaker: horizon already, not notwithstanding what you are,
• 38:18
  Speaker: you're looking at doing so fantastic result with what
• 38:22
  Speaker: you've done so far.
• 38:24
  Speaker: Thank you, I appreciate that.
• 38:26
  Speaker: It has been a team effort, the
• 38:28
  Speaker: team here, our partners and
• 38:31
  Speaker: looking forward to to carrying
• 38:33
  Speaker: on.
• 38:35
  Speaker: But that's all for now.
• 38:36
  Speaker: So many thanks once again to Steve for joining us and sharing
• 38:40
  Speaker: some of his thoughts as both a retailer and industry analyst.
• 38:44
  Speaker: Many thanks to you for listening to this special weekday motor
• 38:47
  Speaker: trade radio podcast.
• 38:49
  Speaker: We're back with the headlines this weekend.
• 38:52
  Speaker: Until then, it's goodbye from me and it's goodbye from him.
• 38:58
  Speaker: Thank you for listening to the Motor Trade Radio podcast
• 39:01
  Speaker: powered by Cazoo.